Buffalo Bills rookie corner Maxwell Hairston impresses in Week 8 NFL debut

• An immediate shot in the arm: Hairston's debut proved to be potentially the best performance by a Bills cornerback this season.

• Lockdown in coverage: Across 15 coverage snaps, the first-round pick wasn't targeted once on initial review.

• The Buffalo Bills defeated the Carolina Panthers in Week 8: Click here for PFF's full statistical review of the action.

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After largely coasting over the first four weeks of the season, the mighty Buffalo Bills — considered potentially the No. 1 Super Bowl contender in the NFL — suddenly looked vulnerable in Weeks 5 and 6. The Patriots and Falcons gashed Buffalo’s defense en route to the Bills suffering two straight defeats prior to its bye week.

In a pivotal Week 8 showdown against the upstart Panthers, Buffalo’s defense answered the call — and rookie Maxwell Hairston played a role in a better showing.

Indeed, during the Bills’ 40-9 drubbing of an upstart Carolina team, Buffalo allowed only -0.316 EPA per play and -0.414 EPA per passing play. Even though he was on the field for just 15 coverage snaps, Hairston didn’t surrender the big plays that have plagued Buffalo in recent years. The first-round pick wasn’t targeted on any of those snaps, contributing to the Panthers totaling only 175 passing yards with backup Andy Dalton.

Hairston’s other snaps during his limited body of work were also encouraging. He helped snuff out a screen after a teammate’s missed tackle, finishing with one stop on the day. Likewise, on 12 run-defense snaps, Hairston recorded a 69.2 PFF run-defense mark on first review.

All told, Hairston netted a 77.0 overall PFF grade during his Week 8 debut. That's the second-highest single-game grade by a Bills corner all season, and the best to play at least 20 or more snaps. In fact, Hairston’s grade stands as the highest among qualified Bills cornerbacks since Christian Benford in Week 17 of last year.

Highest single-game overall PFF grades by Bills cornerbacks this season

More specifically, Buffalo’s corners have remained a considerable weakness in 2025. The Bills rank 31^st in both overall and PFF coverage grade at cornerback this season, carrying over one of their biggest pitfalls in recent memory. The former superstar Benford has stumbled to a 45.6 PFF coverage mark, while veteran Tre’Davious White hasn’t fared much better at a 56.4 overall grade.

That’s where Hairston comes into play. The rookie offered initial positive contributions, playing meaningful snaps in three quarters despite rotating in and out of the starting lineup behind Benford, Taron Johnson and White. If Hairston sustains this level of performance, Buffalo will be left with little choice but to render the Kentucky product a full-time starter.

It is an extraordinarily limited sample size — against a shorthanded offense no less — but Hairston’s performance points to his enormous impact on this much-maligned Buffalo defense. Even as a rookie entering the fray midseason, Hairston holds tremendous gravity for the ceiling of this Bills team.

In fact — as hyperbolic as it may sound — Hairston’s ability to give one of the league’s premier squads a standout at a dire position of need could single-handedly alter the entire course of the 2025 NFL season, potentially allowing the Bills to finally get over their Lombardi-sized hump.